1. serve2. return of serve3. slice--it is useless4. volley/net game--he needs to be more confident at being at the net to close/end points.

of these limitations listed, he can probably do without 2 and still dominate. first, he does not really need a big serve. if he could return with consistency and be somewhat aggressive with his return game, it will take a lot of pressure off that weak serve of his.

secondly, if you get to go in on your own terms, you dont have to be able to volley like roger or edberg.

he absolutely must develop a more effective slice and he has to find a way to return better. practice makes perfect.

1. serve2. return of serve3. slice--it is useless4. volley/net game--he needs to be more confident at being at the net to close/end points.

of these limitations listed, he can probably do wothout 2 and still dominate. first, he doesnt really need a big serve. if he could return with consistency and be somewhat aggressive with his return game, it will take a lot of pressure off that weak serve of his.

secondly, if you get to go in on your own terms, you dont have to be able to volley like roger or edberg.

he absolutely must develop a more effective slice and he has to find a way to return better. practice makes perfect.

Perhaps you should call him Clay/Grass Monster........I dread to think what you call the other ATP Players

Anyway :

1) Serve.......I have been saying he needs to improve this for a while ( his 2nd serve needs improving Flipping fast)

4) I didn't see the match tonite...but he should come to the net more (at Wimbledon his volleys where quite good (but need improving...as does every other on the ATP tour..IMHO) I think he is Confident at the net, but he needs to do more often to shorten the points)

That first set in my mind (until very end) was terribly played by the clay monster. Many players could've taken that set from him (other than Fed). Ex: Andy Roddick.......or even big serving John Isner. The 2nd set was more of a freebie for him. Safin's got crappy mental strength. He's a psycho. His biggest limitation is serve and ret. of serve because if those two were better he wouldn't have to fight off these points for so long. He can end so many points so much quicker if those two things were better.

Yeah, Nadal didn't really play well today...he's lucky he was matched with a headcase. Nadal was hitting his groundstrokes way too short (his main problem on hardcourts) and Safin was hurting him for a while. But Safin started hitting wild (couldn't get the damn ball in play - especially in the second set) and really gifted Nadal that bagel. But part of winning is hanging in there when you aren't playing that great...which is what Nadal did. It frustrated Safin and he fell apart.

Rafa certainly did not serve well tonight. He may be somewhere as we speak working on that serve... out in the street under lights or something. But, everything can change in just one day, tomorrow is a whole new match. Rafa got his feet wet tonight and I think he'll show up with a better game tomorrow.

He fell back to defensive play some, but he also tried on his serve (when he got it in!) to shorten the point a bit. He's got lots of things rolling around in his head to try because I feel sure he doesn't want to spend a lot of time learning the hard court game. He appeared to be moving very well, no knee problems.

Nicknames... as far as I'm concerned he'll always be the raging bull (Spain's name for him), which is on his shoes. I think that was his first nickname, it works for me. Clay Monster is good and there are couple of people that use that name that I really like a lot, but I want him to be more than Clay Monster... he is a raging bull.

In my opinion Nadal is pretty strong mentally, and always comes up with something special, and finds a way to win a match even though if he is not playing his best tennis. He makes the game very physical, and it plays to his advantage. His game is improving, but some top players do have the weapons to cause damage against him. Thats why we see many 4 pr 5 setters in grand slams, tight sets, but Rafa with his never say die attitude some how manages to win.